Tuesday, May 14, 2013

In late April, a Wilderness Volunteers group trekked on an 8 mile backpack to a beachside campsite deep into the rugged Lost Coast of Northern California. The Lost Coast is the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in California. 68,000 acres are managed as the King Range Conservation Area by the Bureau of Land Management. The terrain is extremely rugged and the area experiences relatively frequent earthquakes due to the nearby Mendocino Triple Junction - the meeting of three tectonic plates just offshore. Home to lush forests of Douglas-fir, Coastal Redwoods and Tanoaks, the area supports abundant wildlife including endangered coho and chinook salmon, steelhead trout and spotted owls.

Not a bad place for a hike, photo courtesy of Eric Mak

This was WV's inaugural service project with the King Range National Conservation Area. Participants worked on trail maintenance, including building new sections of trail and water crossings, as well as removing beach debris.

WV participants repair a major section of trail and build a water crossing, photo by Eric Mak

By all accounts the trip was successful! We received these kind words last week from Gary Pritchard-Peterson, the manager at King Range NCA.

We're very grateful for all the participants' hard work and are really looking forward to returning to the area next year!

Our Mission is stewardship of America's wild lands through organizing and promoting volunteer service in cooperation with public land agencies including the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wilderness Volunteers is proud to be supported by a Matching Grant from the National Forest Foundation. Founded by Congress in 1991, The National Forest Foundation works to conserve, restore and enhance America's 193-million-acre National Forest System. Through community-based strategies and public partnerships, the NFF helps enhance wildlife habitat, revitalizes wildfire-damaged landscapes, restores watersheds, and improves recreational resources for the benefit of all Americans.